Water sports
Piedmont is not on the seaside, but the sea is not essential to enjoy watersports. The Po, the most famous Italian river has its source in Piedmont, and hundreds of torrents and streams of water flow through the region. In 1863 a group of eleven young students formed the area’s first rowing squad. Nowadays the riverbanks are occupied by many different rowing associations, some of whom also offer the opportunity to try the sport out for free. During the festival of Saint John, the patron saint of Turin, these groups organise a torch-lit procession down the river, and once a year the University and Polytechnic rowing teams engage in a fiercely competitive race, which recalls the Oxford Cambridge boat race.
As if this was not enough, the more adventurous can also organise white water kayaking or hydrospeed-rafting trips on the mountain torrents of Val Sesia (Vercelli) or Valle Stura (Cuneo) or go canyoneering down narrow river-beds, exploring otherwise inaccessible gorges, waterfalls and ravines. Finally, it is worthwhile exploring the lake districk of Verbano Cusio Ossola, a beautiful area, often visited by Gustave Flaubert who declared it “the most voluptuous place in the world, where nature enchants you with a thousand unknown seductions …”. In peak season, large numbers of foreigners visit the Lago Maggiore, the Lago d’Orta and the Lago di Mergozzo to sail, water-ski or windsurf.
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Places
Castello di Costigliole d’Asti
Surrounded by a large park, the castle houses an international cooking school and the annual “asta del Barbera” (“Barbera auction”) which has become a not-to-miss event for fans of quality wine.
Forte di Fenestrelle
The largest fortified structure in Europe and the longest wall-structure in the world after the Great Wall of China: a 635-meter inclination, 3 km long, 1,300,000 square meters large, 4,000 steps in the Scala Coperta (Covered Staircase), 2,500 steps in the Scala Reale (Royal Staircase), 5 drawbridges, and 183 lights to illuminate the interior.
Sacro Monte di Crea
Built at the end of the 1500’s, the Sacro Monte di Crea has 23 chapels and 5 hermitages scattered throughout the woods and connected to each other by paths. The chapels narrate the life of the Virgin Mary and house extraordinary life-size statuary groups.
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People
Mario Brunello
“Torino has a special karma when it comes to music. The audience here in Torino takes a little more time to decide compared to others. It seems like they are waiting, as if they don’t want to invade the field. This is because they treat artists like people, not like celebrities. They make you feel important because of what you have to say with finesse. This is a very courteous way to make you feel at home.”
Paolo and Vittorio Taviani
"When we arrived at Piazza Castello, immersed in its new light, we said to each other that it was time to set the dolly up here for the camera."
Giuliano Montaldo
“I shot my first film Tiro al piccione in Piemonte in 1960 on Lago Maggiore. Today, for the filming of I Demoni di San Pietroburgo, I wanted to return to the scene of the crime…it’s an historic film that transfers great literature to the plains of Piemonte among the Palazzi and Sabaude residences of Torino”.
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